Railing and manufacture thereof



'Dc.7,1937. w. B. EWING 2, 0 707- RAILINGAND MANUFACTURE THEREOF Filed'Nov. 6, 1954 RatenteHfDec. 7,2193? v 2,101,167- 7 oi1= FICE RAILINGMANUFACTURE THEREOF Wylie B;.J'Ewing;" Wheellng, W."Va., assignor, by'

mesnef assignments, 1 to Vulcan kRail and-Con i wstruction company,Maspeth, N.1 Y.', a, corpora- Ltfion't of New-York i I A i i i 1."Applicaticn November-'6, .1934; sea 751,711

, '21 Claims. (Cl. 29--148.2)

invention relates-broadly w railing and v theiinanuiacturethereof;IItrrelatesmore particularly to railingfcomprising comppsite tubularstructures primarily adapted "for-structural uses at-an angle to thehorizontal the fitting portions may bemade out of the standard stockwithlittle or no difiiculty'than for horizontal railings. Thiseliminates the great expense in connection with 5"suchforexamplepas:hand railinggguardyrailing special cast fittings. Also,the railing isrelatively 5 andvtherli'ke The*invention'furtherrelates toYstrong-andcompactas compared with railing certain impro-vedmethods ofmanufacturing rail- 7 made with cast fittings. Cast fittings are) weakerlingyand.particularly tubular railingyandntocerthan my wrought fittingportions but nevertheless tainhovel features of structures of (suchcharfconsume'morespace and utilize a greater weight Purely "for thepurposes of'illustrationand ex-- Araili'ng may be made up in accordancewith planation the invention will' beudescribed in conmy invention in avery short time and it is not nectionwith the 'manufac'ture ofa handrailing necessary to carry, any special parts .at alliin suchasmay beused for bridges, sidewalks, etc. stock. Ordinarily theentire railingcan be fabri- Railingsof thisvcharacter are ordinarilyma'deof .cated.from pipe or tubing of only two sizes, and if 15 pipe'sectionsand"fittings-connected:togetherin anxadequate supply of these sizesinthe usual m-uclithe same wayasiora conduit." 1 Castfltlengths ismaintained the complete railing can be tings are ordinarily used 4an'dfthe pipe sections fabricated therefrom in a. very short time. The 1threaded into the-fittings." In some 'ca'sesgth'e inv ntion is a pta fthe c c o 0f component partsare welded together. in the field. railingsof a wide variety of sizes and its adap'ta- 2 fIfkthe=rai ling is toextend atan angle to the bility is well nigh limitless. While ordinarilypipe horizontal, asalong a flight of-steps,zspeci'al fitof substantialsize is employed forthe railing, I tingsmust be used, Ifa lower railparallel f to have used in the claims the word tub $11011 thetop rail isto beemployed the uprights are 'wordbeing used in a definitive and not alimitan5 usually each split into two short sections one Q t vese se abeing intended to'comprehend any or;

-" above and one'below"theintermediate fitting,f0r suita le tub r s o kf wh v r size. receiving the lower rail V The features and advantagesof'the'invention I provide 'acomposite tubular structure which, referredto above are intended to be illustrative though having a wide variety ofuses,'.is particuonly; and other d ta obje a dv esdf m larly welladaptablegfo'r use in the construction the invention w 138601118, pp tas the folof handrailings and-.whi'ch' has certain important lowingdescriptmn f' d present p ierred advantages over hand railings ofthe'type 'reembodiments thereof proceedsferred to above. In myconstruction-the-connectd a p ying drawing Ihave shown ingror fittingportionsare preferably of wrought Certain P s Preferred BmbOd mGntS ofthe steel and hence are much stronger than thema'lleinvention, Whichable" castings heretofore commonly used. M Fi ural is a elevational v wf ma n -conconstruction m'ay be assembled in sections in the Struction wportions cut y;

shop and the fitting portions are preferably weldi u 218 an elevationalView Of a a i 00H ed to the pipe sections; the construction beingofstruction similar to that shown in Figure 1 but m such a character thatthe welding-can be effected i which the rails extendal? an angle o t e oi- 4O integrally of the structure, thus avoiding the Zdnlial; necessityOigrinding or finishing of the weld. Figure 3 is a lon i udinal va Vi toMy construction: is considerably cheaper thanithe enlarged Sc an with pns wt aw y, o railings previously in use while at the same time one ofthe upright sections shown in Figure 1 stronger; All'field'weldi-ngmaybe'elim-inated as with the fails em i the sections may becompletelywelded in the a Figure 4 is a transverse cross-sectional View to :shopbe'fore being shipped out. Any'gr-ind'ingor Y enlargedscale, taken onthe line IV-IV of Figfinishing of the weld which may in some cases ure1; i

be necessary or desirabl'emay thus bedone with Figure 5 is alongitudinal cross-sectional view,

shop" equipmentyenablingthe work to be acto enlarged scale and withportions cutaway, 50 "complished much: moreefiiciently than it can be'through' one of the upright members shown in ydon'ein thevfield. i gFigure 1;

The fitting portions are preferablymadeoutof Figure 6 is a, horizontalcross-sectional view standard wrought seamless -stock,"p ortions of suchtaken on the line VI--VI of Figure 3;

53 stock being shaped for connection with con- :Figure 7 is a centralvertical longitudinal crosstinuous' uprightseven though cne' ormorerails sectional view through the lower fitting portion parallel to theupper rail are employed; The use shown in Figure 5; of continuousuprights unbroken by intermediate Figure 8 is an elevational view of amodified. fittings-further greatly strengthen-s theconstrucform ofconstruction having branches extendm tion. Still further, when therailing is to extend ing in two lateral directions; and

kn ure 92is a vertical cross-sectional view through an elbowconstruction.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 The stock used is of anypreferred character and maybe either circular or non-circular incross-section. Circular stock has been selected for the purpose ofillustration. Ordinarily the stock will be of wrought steel, eitherseamless or.

welded. In the embodiments shownin'the drawing almost all of .therailing is made up'from standard pipe of two sizes,one. size for theup-y rights and rails and a slightly larger ,size ,for

the fitting portions. The relationship between the two sizes of pipe ispreferably such that when the smaller size is externally threaded and,the larger size is internally threaded the smaller pipe may be screwedinto the larger size pipe. However, in some cases the relationship maybesuch thatthe smaller size pipe has a sliding fit withinthelarger sizepipe, as in the elbow con- I struction shown in Figure 9."

and 3 to 7, inclusive; I provide a railing comprising ,uprights 2,fitting portions ,3 for. the top terior of the uprights. so

'rail', fitting portions 4 for the ,lower rail] top rail sections 5 andlower rail sections 6. The uprights 2' and the rails Sand 5 are of thesame cross section and unbroken throughout, The fitting portions 3 and 4are applied to'the extions 3 has a hole ,ldrilled through its wall on anaxis perpendicular .to and intersecting the c axis of the fittingportion and'oi a size to snugly receive the top of thecorrespondingupright 2. The top of the upright is introduced withinthe hole Ipreferablyuntil its upper edge strikes the upper portion of the interiorof the fitting, .as "shown in Figures 3 and}. This is preferably done bypressing if the hole! is of such size as to fit tightly about the.exterior of thejupright.

When a pressed fit is employed this alone produces, a joint which isstrong and accuratelyalignedpand of pleasing appearance. Whether ornot apressed fit is employedlt is ordinarily preferable to weld the fittingportion to the upright, such, for example, as indicated at 8 in Figures3 and 6. As shown, the welding is of the deposit type and is doneentirely internally or the structure and cannot be seen fro m withoutafter the railing is completed and produces a very strong structurewithout the necessity of any external finishing. 4

The fitting portions 4 for the lower rail are made and applied similarlyto the fitting portions 3 except that a hole 5 is drilledall the waythrough each of the fittingportions 4, passing through opposite wallportions thereof.

A cross section through one of the fitting portions 9 is shown inFigure'l. These portions are also applied to the uprights,preferably bypressing,

and are preferably welded to the uprights internally, as shown at H1 inFigure 5. I

The upright sections comprising the uprights 2 and the fitting portions3 and 4 are completely fabricated in the shop. Ordinarily each endofeach of the fitting portions will be internally threaded as shown at HinFigure 5 so that the rail sections can be threaded thereinto. ,Itmay,

Each of the fitting por- ,incident to casting.

ployed the relative sizes of the pipes are's uch as to permit of asliding fit as shown in Figure 9. In this figure a composite elbow I2 ismade up by welding together an: 'two properly cut sectionsof stock ofthe larger size,"an upright ll being introduced into the downwardlyextending .leg of the elbow and welded therein as at IS.

The upwardly and angularly extending leg of the elbow may also make asliding fit with the adjacent rail section indicated in chain lines atlfi or a--threaded fit may be provided for by making the elbow of twopieces of stock of slight- 1y different size; the upwardly and angularlyextending leg-pf the elbow being slightly smaller to permit of athreaded connection with the rail section.

The construction shown in Figure2 is the same "as that shown. in Figure1 except that the rail sections extend .at an angleto the horizontal InFigure 2 the upright is shown at 2a, the upper fitting portion at 3a,the lower fitting portion at 411, the'upper rail soctionsat 5a, and thelower rail sections at 5a The respective holes Ia through the upperfittlng portion and 911 through the lower fitting portion aredrilled onaxes intersec'ting the longitudinal axes of the fitting portions but atan acute angle thereto. The

component parts are welded together as above explained. This provides astrong rigid structure for use ona gradeoras a safety railing for steps.

A further modified forrn of construction is shown in Figure. 8 in whichthe upright is indicated at 2b, the longitudinal fitting portion at 41)and an extra transverse fitting portion at H.

The construction of Figured is similar to that of Figure 2 except thatthe transverse fitting portion ll is applied to the structure shown atthe lower portion of Figure 2 and also the angle of inclination of .therail sections is slightly different. The transverse fitting portion I!vhas its rear extremity, viewing Figure 8, shaped to conform with thesurface of thecomposite structure to which it is' applied and it iswelded thereto,

,as shown at l8. ,Another similar transverse fitv ting portion may, beapplied opposite the portion I1.

,, previously assembled structure. This same principle .may' be utilizedinforming an ordinary railing such as that shown in. Figure l, from,

which it is apparent thatrltwo different sizes of pipe are not essentialand/the entire railing may be made from pipe of a single size, or theuprights and fitting-portions may be made of pipe of one size and therail sections of pipe of another size. The broad features of the ivention may be applied in.countless different ways and no attempt hashere been made to illustrate or mention any but a few examples.

, While it'is preferred, to form the fitting portions of wrought stock,these portions may, if desired, be cast or otherwise formed, although,as

,above explained, it is preferred to use wrought stock onaccount of itssuperior strength and because of the elimination of the great expenseHowever, for certain purwith my in The construction bfFigure8i1lustrates the 7 upright sections are galvanized after the fittingportions have been applied to the uprights.

While I have shown and described certain present preferred embodimentsof the invention,

it is to be distinctly understood that the same is not limited theretobut may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scopeof thefollowing claims.

I claim: a

l. A method of making railing, comprising assembing a. plurality ofrailing members, welding the same together, and thereafter assemblingwith said welded members at least one other railing member to form arailing structure and cover so as to conceal from without theweldbetween said first mentioned members.

2. A method of making railing, comprising assembling a plurality ofrailing members at least oneof which is hollow, welding said memberstogether within said hollow member, and there after assembling with saidwelded members at least one other railing member to form a railingstructure and cooperate with said hollow member to cover so as toconceal from without the weld between said first mentioned members.

3. A method of making railing, comprising essembling a plurality ofrailing members, welding the same together, and thereafter assemblingwith said welded members a hollow railing member to form a railingstructure and cover so as to conceal from without the weld between saidfirst mentioned members.

4. A method of making railing, comprising assembling a plurality oftubular railing members, welding the same together, andthereafterassembling with said welded members at least one other tubular railingmember to form a railing structure and cover so as to conceal fromwithout the weld between said first mentioned members.

5. A method of making railing, comprising interfltting a plurality ofrailing members at least one of which is hollow and welding said memberstogether within said hollow member in such manner that the weld isinvisible from the outside of the railing.

6. A method of making railing, comprising interfitting a plurality oftubular railing members and welding said members together within atleast one thereof in such manner that the weld is invisible from theoutside of the railing.

7. A method of making railing, comprising assembling a plurality ofrailing members and joining said members together by deposit welding andwith the welding deposit concealed from the exterior of the'railing.

outside ofthe railing. I

10. A method of making railing, comprising removing a portion of a pieceoftubing so as to enable it to fit on the exterior only of another pieceof tubing, fitting said pieces together, and joining said piecesinternally of said first mentioned piece in such manner that no visibleindication of the joining appears at the outside of the railing. I

11. A method of making railing, comprising assembling a plurality ofrailing members and joining the same by deposit welding with the weldingdeposit in the finished railing disposed within the confines of therailing members.

12. A method of making railing, comprising making in the wall of apieceof tubing a transverse opening whose diameter is substantiallythe sameas the external diameter of a second piece of tubing, positioning aportion of the second piece of tubing within said opening and joiningthe pieces together within said first mentioned piece in such mannerthat no visible indication of the joining appears at the outside of therailing.

13. Railing structure, comprising a plurality of railing membersconnected together by a welding deposit and at least one other railingmember cooperating with said first mentioned members to form the railingstructure and cover so as to conceal the welding deposit from theoutside of the structure.

14. Railingstructure, comprising a plurality of pieces of tubing weldedtogether, the weld being disposed entirely internally of the structureso as to be invisible from the outside of the railing.

l5. Railing structure, comprising a plurality of pieces of tubingassembled in non-coaxial relationship and joined together by a weldingdeposit interiorly of the structure.

16. Railing structure, comprising a plurality of railing members joinedby a'welding deposit concealed from the exterior of the structure.

17. Railing structure, comprising a plurality of tubular members joinedby a welding deposit at' i the inner surface of one of such members andthe outer surface of another thereof.

18. Railing structure, comprising a plurality of railing members havingin contact wall portions disposed at an angle to one another and awelding deposit in said angle joining said members together, saidwelding deposit being concealed from the exterior of the structure.

19. Railing structure, comprising a plurality of tubular members havingin contact wall portions disposed at an angle to one another and awelding deposit in said angle joining said members together, saidwelding deposit being disposed .within at least one of said tubularmembers and 21. Railing structure, comprising a longitudinally extendingtubular rail member and a plurality of tubular supporting members forthe rail member spaced therealong and extending transversely withrespect thereto, the rail member and supporting members being weldedtogether within the confines of the structure.

WYLIE B. EWING.

